Friday by tossing one-run ball into the seventh

The Cincinnati Reds have climbed back to respectability in the NL Central Adidas Mika Zibanejad Jersey , thanks largely to suddenly solid pitching.

Tyler Mahle kept it up Friday by tossing one-run ball into the seventh inning and the Reds edged the Cubs 3-2 for their fifth straight victory over Chicago.

Adam Duvall and Scooter Gennett drove in runs as the Reds won for the 14th time in 18 games and ended the Cubs’ six-game winning streak. Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati’s No. 9 hitter, had three hits and leadoff man Jose Peraza had two.

Mahle (7-6) allowed five hits and struck out four over 6 2/3 innings to win his fourth straight decision. In his last seven starts, the 23-year-old right-hander has a 2.06 ERA.

”He’s just a great competitor, a very composed young man,” manager Jim Riggleman said. ”He just challenged hitters and really gave us another good ballgame.”

With a stiff wind blowing in from the north at Wrigley Field, Mahle could afford to be aggressive on a 70-degree day. Deep flies by both teams that might have carried into the bleachers in warmer conditions stayed in the ballpark.

”We had some guys who really got into some balls, and they didn’t go anywhere,” Mahle said. ”I knew being kind of a flyball pitcher that I was going to be OK.”

The Reds are 36-34 since Riggleman took over for Bryan Price on April 19 when they were 3-15.

”All of us realize that we’re a lot better than we what we were at the start,” Mahle said. ”We just go out and kind of expect to win at this point.”

Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati’s third reliever Barry Sanders Jersey , got the final five outs for his 17th save in 20 chances.

Albert Almora Jr. and Ben Zobrist drove in the Cubs’ runs.

Cubs starter Mike Montgomery (3-3) allowed three runs on six hits in five innings while walking two and hitting two batters. He scuffled in the fourth and fifth as the Reds built a 3-0 lead.

The Reds swept the Cubs, he reigning NL Central champions, in a four-game series in Cincinnati two weeks ago.

”They always could hit,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”The difference is they’re keeping the other side down now.

”It’s not just us. Their pitching is really, I think, the lynchpin of their success right now.”

The Reds jumped ahead 2-0 in the fourth after loading the bases with no outs.

Duvall lined a single up the middle to score Gennett, then Joey Votto came home on Scott Schebler’s double-play grounder.

Cincinnati tacked on a run in the fifth when Hamilton scored from third on Gennett’s sacrifice fly.

The Cubs cut it to 3-1 in the bottom half of the inning when Almora grounded into a forceout and closed to 3-2 in the eighth on Zobrist’s sac fly.

REDS ROSTER MOVE

INF Dilson Herrera was promoted from Triple-A Louisville to fill the spot vacated by LHP Cody Reed, who was sent down. Herrera had a .297 batting average and seven home runs at Louisville and was part of the Jay Bruce trade with the Mets last August.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Reds: Montgomery hit Votto with a pitch on the back of the helmet in the fifth, but Votto sprinted to first and remained in the game.

Cubs: Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation) was activated off the DL and Dillon Maples was optioned to Triple-A Iowa. … Theo Epstein said Yu Darvish (right triceps tendinitis/right elbow impingement and inflammation) is feeling better and is optimistic the star right-hander will make a ”solid contribution” this season. Epstein, the Cubs president of baseball operations, didn’t provide a timetable for the starter’s return. Darvish is in a strengthening phase. … Epstein said INF/OF Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation) had a good day in the batting cage on Friday and is nearing a return. Epstein planned to meet with Bryant on Friday to determine next steps Adidas Mark Stone Jersey , which might include a brief rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Reds RHP Matt Harvey (4-5, 4.91) takes the mound against Cubs RHP Tyler Chatwood (3-5, 4.54) on Saturday. Harvey has won his last three starts, with a 1.47 ERA over 18 1/3 innings. Chatwood yielded seven runs in five innings to the Twins in his last outing, but still got a win as Chicago outslugged Minnesota 14-9. He leads the majors with 66 walks.

After a rough debut, Cleveland Indians rookie Shane Bieber has found his routine.

Bieber (3-0) struck out seven to become the seventh pitcher in baseball’s modern era to strike out six or more batters in each of his first four major league starts. After giving up four runs in 5 2/3 innings in his first outing, Bieber has given up just two runs in his last three starts and lowered his ERA to 2.22.

”It’s just being able to fall into a routine and just get a little more comfortable within that routine and within the clubhouse here and with the guys and all that,” Bieber said. ”That goes a long way to being able to establish what you want to do.”

The Indians avoided a series sweep and have won eight of 10. Cleveland starters improved to 17-2 with a 2.26 ERA across 26 starts in series finales, including wins in their last nine decisions.

”For a young kid when runners are on and things start to happen, he seems to pitch more maturely than his age would indicate Adidas Erik Karlsson Jersey ,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. ”He starts throwing his breaking ball, gets some chase, doesn’t panic, game doesn’t speed up. That’s a real nice trait for anybody, let alone a kid that’s got four major league starts.”

Bieber jumped on a first-pitch fastball from Jack Flaherty in the fourth for a double, his first major league hit.

Jose Martinez snapped Bieber’s scoreless innings streak at 14 innings with a one-out RBI single in the third.

”I thought he had a good breaking ball,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Bieber. ”It must have been a little different from than what guys have seen lately, you could tell some of the swings even in counts where they might have been looking for it might have been off a bit.”

Encarnacion and Chisenhall gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in the second, marking Cleveland’s fifth back-to-back home runs this season.

Francisco Lindor walked and Michael Brantley doubled to spark a two-run third that extended the Indians’ lead to 4-0. Tyler Naquin doubled home another run in the sixth.

Francona credited a loose atmosphere after the Indians dropped the first two in the series.

”It’s not necessarily about being silly but it’s about you don’t want to just be tight,” Francona said. ”We already lost a couple tough games and it’s nice to come back and play a good one with a day off tomorrow and a long flight.”

Flaherty (3-3) went four innings, his shortest outing this season as the Cardinals had their four-game winning streak snapped. It followed perhaps his most dominant start Adidas Matt Duchene Jersey , in which he carried a no-hitter for 6 1/3 innings against Milwaukee on Friday.

”Those two home runs were missed spots and I just wasn’t able to execute,” Flaherty said. ”They hit some balls that fell.”

Matt Carpenter walked, doubled and scored a night after scoring five runs and getting five hits.

Cardinals: SS Paul DeJong (left hand fracture) is scheduled to meet with doctors Thursday with the hopes of being cleared to head out for a rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer (7-5, 2.44 ERA) will kick off a three-game series against Oakland and RHP Paul Blackburn (1-2, 8.83 ERA) on Friday. Bauer is 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in five career starts against the A’s.

Cardinals: RHP Miles Mikolas (8-2, 2.69 ERA) will get the start as St. Louis hosts Atlanta and RHP Julio Teheran (5-5, 4.52 ERA) in the first of a three-game set Friday. Mikolas threw 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings in his only career appearance against the Braves on Aug. 15, 2012.

The Huskies dropped the authorities loaded to complete the game. Younger pitcher Jill (2-6) set in energy in the ball, leaving just one made run while scattering college assignment service nine runs in six periods of work. She pulled up four strikeouts while six athletes on the field, including six in scoring form.